The Flower Thief
by writergirl3005
Summary: She caught him stealing flowers in her garden, and now she's following him to see the girl for whom he stole for. How was he to tell her that they were heading to a cemetery? Rewritten fic


A/N: Prompt: "Sometimes I steal flowers from your garden on my way to the cemetery, but today you've caught me and have demanded to come with me to make sure the "girl is pretty enough to warrant flower theft" and I'm trying to figure out how to break it to you that we're on our way to a graveyard" AU

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_Click_. The unmistakable sound of a gun's safety being released made Roy freeze while picking some flowers. "So, you're the thief who's been helping himself to my flowers."

He turned, raising his hands up in the air, one of his hand still clutching a bunch of orchids. The one who was pointing a gun at him was a blonde woman with dark eyes. There was something familiar about her.

Roy really hoped that she wouldn't shoot him. This would be a pretty embarrassing way to die - it would land him on that radio program - 1001 ways to die.

"Um, hi?" he asked, unsure of what else he could say. Well, to be fair, there was little that a person could say in this situation. Not to mention that Roy was distracted by how beautiful the woman looked while brandishing her gun around.

Not the time to get a boner, he reminded himself.

The woman raised her eyebrow. "Hi? Is that all that you can say for yourself? No apology?" She looked at him in disgust. "Do you have any idea how much time and effort I have to put into making sure my flowers grow?"

"I'm sorry, I really am," said Roy. "I'll pay you for all the flowers that I took, I promise. I just-"

"Wanted to impress your girlfriend with some stolen flowers?" she demanded, but to Roy's relief, she holstered her gun after activating the safety again.

"I didn't-" Roy tried to protest, but was cut off again.

"Well, then let's go."

Roy blinked this woman was giving him whiplash. "Go where?" he asked in confusion.

"To see your girlfriend. I want to see the woman whom you think is worth committing petty theft for."

"Aren't you going to report me?" asked Roy. This woman was something else.

She crossed her arms across her chest. "Well, it depends on how this meeting with your girlfriend goes.

"Can I at least have your name?" asked Roy nervously.

She studied him; making him feel like a specimen under a microscope. "Riza Hawkeye," she said shortly. Roy wanted to ask if she was related to Berthold Hawkeye but decided against it. "And yours?" she added.

"Roy Mustang," he answered. He knew that she would recognise the name.

"Ah, the Flame Alchemist. I would say it's nice to meet you if I hadn't caught you stealing my flowers."

Roy had no reply to that. "This way," he said, making his way towards his destination. Riz followed him, with her hand hovering by her gun, ready to draw it out at a moments' notice.

They walked in silence for the rest of the journey.

Roy was getting more nervous as they reached their destination. He had absolutely no idea how to explain to this woman that they were going to a cemetery.

"We're here," Roy mumbled as they reached the gates of the cemetery.

Riza gave him a quizzical look. "But we're at a -Oh," her eyes widened in realisation, her hand finally moving away from the gun. "I'm sorry, I should-"

Roy cut her off with a wave of his hand. "You came all the way here, you might as well see whom I'm visiting."

He led her to one of the more secluded spots in the cemetery. There were two gravestones lying side by side. One of them read 'Hui Yin Mustang' and the other "Andrew Mustang'.

"Your parents?" she asked, noting the year of death on the dates.

Roy nodded, unable to say anything else.

"Why orchids?" I didn't think that they were the kind of flower you'd leave on a grave."

Roy bit his lip. "My mother loved orchids," he explained. "They were her favourite flower. My father used to give her a bunch of orchids every week. It always made her smile. She'd kiss him after accepting the flowers every time." He smiled, lost in pleasant memories. "I always told them not to kiss in front of me, because it was so gross. My father laughed at me, saying I would change my mind about kissing when I got older."

He sighed and dropped his head into his hands. "I just miss them so much."

"Couldn't you buy some orchids? Or grow them?" Riza asked softly.

"I can't find a florist who has orchids," he said. "And trust me, I've tried. Plus, I have no idea how to grow orchids, and I couldn't grow them even if I tried. I can barely grow cacti."

"Cacti are pretty easy to grow," she said in amusement.

Roy nodded. "I know; I'm just not good at gardening. But you grew orchids and very nice ones as well. I just wanted to give my mother some flowers she actually liked. I have no idea why I didn't just ask. It seemed too weird at first, and once I started just taking the orchids, it made it even more awkward to ask."

They said nothing for a while. Then Riza spoke up. "How about I help you? I'll teach you how to grow them, you're an alchemist, I'm pretty sure you'll pick it up quickly."

Roy raised his eyebrows in confusion."Why do you want to help me after I stole your flowers?"

"You are going to pay me for the orchids you stole, right?" At his nod, she added, "Well, I'm feeling a bit generous. And if you know how to grow them, you'll stop stealing my flowers."

"Thank you. And I am sorry about stealing from your garden."

She smiled at him. "Better not steal any more flowers now Mustang."

"I won't."

As they left the cemetery, Roy turned to her and said, "Can I see you this weekend? To make arrangement for my gardening lessons, of course."

She smiled. "Of course. I'll see you later, Roy." She turned and left.

Roy watched her until she disappeared from his view. His face split into a wide grin. That woman was special, he was sure of it.

_I can't wait to tell Hughes!_


End file.
